The Transporter
by cepaul518
Summary: A young troll priest is sent on a delivery errand, but the package he's transporting isn't the most cooperative.


_**Chapter One: The Package**_

It was a clear, calm morning in the port town of Ratchet. The palm trees swayed gently in the breeze, and the goblins seemed surprisingly content for the time being. Business was good, shipments were on time, thefts were at a minimum, and the gold was smoothly rolling in.

Wharfmaster Dizzywig sat at the end of the dock absently counting and re-counting gold coins while waiting for the ship from Booty Bay to arrive. He hummed quietly to himself, enjoying the lapping of the waves and the screaming birds, only to be interrupted by a dark shadow falling over him. He looked up impatiently, annoyed that his pleasant sun had been blotted out. However, the stranger's face could not be seen, for the sun was behind him. Dizzywig shaded his eyes and clenched his fist tightly around his coins.

"Can I help you?" the goblin cawed, rather snippy. He watched the silhouette pause for a moment, and then look off towards the horizon.

"I be waitin' for a shipment. I hav' a package on its way to me t'day," a quiet voice replied.

"Let me check my list." The goblin got up and retrieved his shipment schedule from his nearby satchel. "Name?"

Another pause. "Hephaestion."

Dizzywig frowned as he scanned the list. "Hmmm. I don't see…oh no, wait. Here it is. You're expecting a delivery from Dorek Bladethorn, yes?"

"Yes. He supposed t'bring it along in person," the stranger murmured.

"Right, right. Well, he's not due until this evening around dinnertime. Come back then."

The only response from his offending sun-blocker was a long sigh. Then finally, the figure turned and left.

_Hmph,_ the goblin thought. He sat back down on the end of the dock, and began shining the coins on his sleeve.

Hephaestion stepped heavily off the dock, his two-toed feet sinking into the sandy mud at the water's edge. His distinct tracks followed him along the beach. He was irate; he hadn't planned on staying in Ratchet all day long. He had just wanted to come pick up the package—whatever it was—get out of there, and deliver it. As much as a pleasant town it was, there was just nothing to _do_ there. The inn was completely sub-par. The tavern was practically in the same room as a disgusting communal sleeping area for gods' sakes.

The goblins always seemed in need a lot of help as well. He had gone on several quests for them in the past to earn some much needed rum money, but today he was feeling lazy and couldn't be bothered with something as trivial as going way the hell out to the Stonetalon Mountains to collect spiders' eggs.

Instead, he planted himself atop a large hill overlooking the ocean, near the inn. Further to the southeast, he could make out the faint outline of the Echo Isles rising up out of the clear, often deadly, sea. The wind moved through his hair, blowing his long white bangs away from his garnet-colored eyes. His hair, pleated tightly down his back, remained undisturbed in the breeze.

He sighed and began to entertain himself by snapping his fingers. With each snap, a spark flew from them and arced away as the wind caught them. He smiled to himself, amused that he could be entertained by such a child-like activity.

After an hour or two of breeze, sea spray, and sparks, Hephaestion rose to his feet when he could feel the onset of a stiff back. He had rather poor posture, undoubtedly from having such a long torso which gave him a slouch. Like his torso, his forearms and legs seemed almost disproportionately long, but this tall, svelte stature was efficient for speed and lightning-quick reflexes. His long, pointed ears reached back up over his shoulders for maximum reception…and his long tusks—overgrown, curved upper canines—jutted forward for utmost intimidation.

He began to think about what this package could possibly be. His guildmaster, Dorek, had ordered Hephaestion to meet him in Ratchet. He had emphasized (in a rather intimidating way, Hephaestion thought) that it was of extreme importance that he accept a delivery to take to Warchief Thrall in Orgrimmar. Hephaestion got the hint that he was to ask no questions—just complete the job.

Hephaestion had only met Thrall once, but he knew that a delivery going straight to him had to be ridiculously important. This made him nervous. He was going to have to be extra careful transporting it, since he knew it would be his neck on the chopping block if anything catastrophic happened. Not that it would. Orgrimmar wasn't that far from Ratchet, after all.

Wiley, the innkeeper, scrambled up the hill clutching a letter in his small hands. "This came for you."

Hephaestion thanked him and opened it:

_Somatophylax Hephaestion,_

_Change of plans. The new designated location for package pick-up will be Splintertree Post in Ashenvale. Be there tomorrow by noon._

_Blood and thunder,_

_Dorek Bladethorn_

The troll sighed and crumpled the piece of parchment with his fist.. Hephaestion loved Ashenvale. But now this meant that he would have to go back to Crossroads and spend what little money he had to get a flight on the back of a windrider. Being that he was predominantly a raiding priest, he did not quest often to earn money, and ended up spending what little money he did have on armor repair. He could simply walk all the way up to Ashenvale, but there was just no way he'd get there in time.

--

_Author's Note: WoWWiki best resource evar. I didn't feel the need to have Hephaestion say "mon" every five seconds. I know trolls do the whole Jamaican thing, but it just seemed so cliché. Also, I'm trying to steer away from the idea that all trolls are nothing but horny bastards, which seems so prevalent in other fan-fictions. Being that Heph is a priest, I'd figure that his morals might be at least somewhat classier._

_Oh, by the way. Hephaestion is my very beloved character on Trollbane. pets I can't play the game without thinking dirty, dirty thoughts about him, lol. I started writing this story YEARS ago, way before Retribution or Adonis. Probably around in 2004, when when my writing sucked more (sorry for the crap editing job, I just want to get the shit posted lol) and Heph was still a noob. The Heph of today could totally kick this guy's ass._


End file.
